Kevin Eastman

Kevin

Eastman

Co-creator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

In 1982, he met Peter Laird in Northampton, Massachusetts and Mirage Studios was formed. Less than a year later in the middle of a late night jam session, Eastman doodled a new character he dubbed a “Ninja Turtle” to make Laird laugh—and Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had officially entered the universe! Self published in May of 1984 the first issue sold out of its 3000 copies overnight and quickly became a fan favorite. Eastman and Laird maintained full control of their creations while guiding them through toy licensing, TV series adaptation, as well as feature film exploitation, and by 1989 the TMNT’s were number one in all three categories. Currently Eastman is working on a new TMNT series with IDW Publishing and editing Heavy Metal. He also recently partnered with writer/director/producer Robert Rodriguez to develop a new series of Heavy Metal-inspired animated and live action films. Eastman resides in San Diego with wife Courtney (aka “First Lady of the Turtles”), son Shane, as well as a few insane dachshunds.

Mission Statement

Comic-Con International: San Diego is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture.